Flowcarbon Raises $70m with VC Shop a16z the Lead Investor

Since the ban, however, China has seen its hashrate climb from a Jul-21 0% to 21.1% in Jan-22. The US hashrate stood at 37.84% in Jan-22, making it the largest bitcoin mining nation.

US lawmakers have been unenamoured by its position as the world’s largest bitcoin mining nation. President Joe Biden and the US have a goal of reaching carbon zero emissions by 2050.

The continued use of fossil fuels to provide mining power has led to calls to ban bitcoin and Proof-of-Work mining altogether.

From a global perspective, the increased focus on crypto mining reflects a sense of urgency at the government level and below for more action to save the planet. This increases the need for a transparent carbon credit market.

Flowcarbon Draws Investor Interest with New Carbon Credit Platform

Flowcarbon is an open-source protocol, initially launched on Celo, aiming to bring carbon credits on-chain.

By tokenizing carbon credits, Flowcarbon provides a platform for project developers and carbon buyers to interact directly, resulting in a liquid carbon market with efficient pricing.

The goals to help achieve the Flowcarbon mission include,

• Creating a more transparent, accessible carbon market.
• Promoting sustainable practices.
• Help organizations become net zero or net negative.

Key climate goals include:

• Incentivize DAOs and other organizations to use on-chain carbon assets to become net zero or net negative.
• Lead by example to show DAOs how to become net negative carbon contributors by burning a portion of all fee revenue as carbon tokens.

Investor interest has been impressive, with Flowcarbon raising $70 million in its first round of funding.

Among first-round investors was a16z. Announcing its investment in Flowcarbon on Tuesday, a16z said,

“The carbon neutral market could potentially grow to $50B by 2030, and on-chain carbon credits can help facilitate this reality. Bringing carbon credits on-chain adds major efficiencies to the market, enabling individuals and corporations to internalize the cost of emissions, reducing negative externalities that are currently socialized, and ultimately incentivizing more sustainable practices.”

The announcement went on to say.

“Unlike current voluntary carbon credit marketplaces, which are fractured, opaque, and gated, tokenized carbon credits allow anyone the ability to purchase credits and control when they are retired as offsets, with built in liquidity and price discovery.”

With crypto mining receiving government scorn, the launch of Flowcarbon hits home the benefits of blockchain technology and the need for governments to drive innovation.